Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage Reduction

Psychrotolerant spore-forming bacteria, entering raw milk primarily on-farm, represent a major challenge for fluid milk processors due to the ability of these bacteria to survive heat treatments used for milk processing (e.g., pasteurization) and to cause premature spoilage. Importantly, fluid milk...

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Main Authors: Forough Enayaty-Ahangar, Sarah I. Murphy, Nicole H. Martin, Martin Wiedmann, Renata Ivanek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.670029/full
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author Forough Enayaty-Ahangar
Sarah I. Murphy
Nicole H. Martin
Martin Wiedmann
Renata Ivanek
author_facet Forough Enayaty-Ahangar
Sarah I. Murphy
Nicole H. Martin
Martin Wiedmann
Renata Ivanek
author_sort Forough Enayaty-Ahangar
collection DOAJ
description Psychrotolerant spore-forming bacteria, entering raw milk primarily on-farm, represent a major challenge for fluid milk processors due to the ability of these bacteria to survive heat treatments used for milk processing (e.g., pasteurization) and to cause premature spoilage. Importantly, fluid milk processors require tools to identify optimal strategies for reducing spore-forming bacteria, thereby extending product shelf-life by delaying spoilage. Potential strategies include (i) introducing farm-level premium payments (i.e., bonuses) based on spore-forming bacteria counts in raw milk and (ii) investing in spore reduction technologies at the processing level of the fluid milk supply chain. In this study, we apply an optimization methodology to the problem of milk spoilage due to psychrotolerant spore-forming bacteria and propose two novel mixed-integer linear programming models that assess improving milk shelf-life from the dairy processors' perspective. Our first model, imposed to a budgetary constraint, maximizes milk's shelf-life to cater to consumers who prefer milk with a long shelf-life. The second model minimizes the budget required to perform operations to produce milk with a shelf-life of a certain length geared to certain customers. We generate case studies based on real-world data from multiple sources and perform a comprehensive computational study to obtain optimal solutions for different processor sizes. Results demonstrate that optimal combinations of interventions are dependent on dairy processors' production volume and quality of raw milk from different producers. Thus, the developed models provide novel decision support tools that will aid individual processors in identifying the optimal approach to achieving a desired milk shelf-life given their specific production conditions and motivations for shelf-life extension.
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spelling doaj.art-f6171fd1f0494603a18e92a9d3828d1c2022-12-21T18:42:40ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2021-07-01510.3389/fsufs.2021.670029670029Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage ReductionForough Enayaty-Ahangar0Sarah I. Murphy1Nicole H. Martin2Martin Wiedmann3Renata Ivanek4Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesPopulation Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesPopulation Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesPsychrotolerant spore-forming bacteria, entering raw milk primarily on-farm, represent a major challenge for fluid milk processors due to the ability of these bacteria to survive heat treatments used for milk processing (e.g., pasteurization) and to cause premature spoilage. Importantly, fluid milk processors require tools to identify optimal strategies for reducing spore-forming bacteria, thereby extending product shelf-life by delaying spoilage. Potential strategies include (i) introducing farm-level premium payments (i.e., bonuses) based on spore-forming bacteria counts in raw milk and (ii) investing in spore reduction technologies at the processing level of the fluid milk supply chain. In this study, we apply an optimization methodology to the problem of milk spoilage due to psychrotolerant spore-forming bacteria and propose two novel mixed-integer linear programming models that assess improving milk shelf-life from the dairy processors' perspective. Our first model, imposed to a budgetary constraint, maximizes milk's shelf-life to cater to consumers who prefer milk with a long shelf-life. The second model minimizes the budget required to perform operations to produce milk with a shelf-life of a certain length geared to certain customers. We generate case studies based on real-world data from multiple sources and perform a comprehensive computational study to obtain optimal solutions for different processor sizes. Results demonstrate that optimal combinations of interventions are dependent on dairy processors' production volume and quality of raw milk from different producers. Thus, the developed models provide novel decision support tools that will aid individual processors in identifying the optimal approach to achieving a desired milk shelf-life given their specific production conditions and motivations for shelf-life extension.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.670029/fulldairy supply chainpasteurized fluid milkmicrobial spoilagepremium/penalty systemoptimizationmixed-integer linear programming
spellingShingle Forough Enayaty-Ahangar
Sarah I. Murphy
Nicole H. Martin
Martin Wiedmann
Renata Ivanek
Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage Reduction
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
dairy supply chain
pasteurized fluid milk
microbial spoilage
premium/penalty system
optimization
mixed-integer linear programming
title Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage Reduction
title_full Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage Reduction
title_fullStr Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage Reduction
title_full_unstemmed Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage Reduction
title_short Optimizing Pasteurized Fluid Milk Shelf-Life Through Microbial Spoilage Reduction
title_sort optimizing pasteurized fluid milk shelf life through microbial spoilage reduction
topic dairy supply chain
pasteurized fluid milk
microbial spoilage
premium/penalty system
optimization
mixed-integer linear programming
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.670029/full
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AT martinwiedmann optimizingpasteurizedfluidmilkshelflifethroughmicrobialspoilagereduction
AT renataivanek optimizingpasteurizedfluidmilkshelflifethroughmicrobialspoilagereduction